Submitting your manuscript

The Journal of Monetary Economics welcomes the submission of manuscripts in all areas of macroeconomics. To ensure the prompt processing of your manuscript, please follow these guidelines when submitting a new manuscript:

Submission of a paper will be held to imply that it contains original unpublished work and is not being submitted for publication elsewhere. They must be submitted online using the Elsevier Editorial System.

After submitting the manuscript online, authors will receive an email asking them to pay the submission fee. After payment has been received, the authors will receive an e-mail from the editorial office assigning the manuscript a number.

A portion of the manuscripts is directly returned to the corresponding author after a brief review by the editor. In this case, the submission fee is refunded, minus a $50 processing fee.

Authors are strongly encouraged to implement the JMEmanuscript style requirements as soon as they receive a request for a revision. After an "accept with major revisions" decision letter, the style must be implemented.

Decision categories

The JME's policy is to minimize the length of time that an author faces to get an ultimate decision on his/her manuscript, so focussing on time to rejection and time to publication. The number of submissions is only very rarely above three, and a high bar is set on the first round so that open ended-requests for a revision are avoided. The editors classify their decisions on manuscripts into six decision categories:

Desk Reject - Based on the editor's initial review, without consulting referees, it is unlikely that the manuscript would eventually be published in the JME.

Reject - Authors are advised to submit revisions to another journal. The JME has a strict policy of only asking for a resubmission if there is at least a 50% chance that the manuscript is ultimately published, so that authors are saved from risky and lengthy multiple rounds of revision. That implies that many good manuscripts, even some that show potential, are rejected in the first stage.

Reject / Revise - The manuscript shows promise, but major revisions are necessary for it to be published. Revised manuscripts must be accompanied by letters to the editors and reviewers of the paper addressing all of their concerns. A fee is due on submission.

Accept with major revisions - Publication of the manuscript is anticipated but not guaranteed, as long as authors revise the manuscript to the editor's satisfaction in a timely manner. Authors must format the manuscript following the JMEstyle requirements for the next round, while they were encouraged to do so in earlier rounds. A fee is due on submission.

Accept with minor revisions - The manuscript is basically acceptable, but there are small revisions that must be made, often editorial and stylistic. No more fees required.

Accept - The manuscript should be prepared for publication using the guidelines for final preparation of manuscripts. Upon acceptance of an article, author(s) will be asked to transfer copyright of the article to the publisher.

Submitting a revised manuscript

At the JME, the first revision is a critical one, since second round submissions must be either rejected or accepted subject to a specified plan of further revisions. It is "up or out" for the resubmission of a manuscript after the first round. The author(s) should include the following items in their resubmission:

A brief cover letter to the editor that highlights the major elements of the revised manuscript and particularly stresses any major changes not requested by the editor and the referee on the prior round. The cover letter is also the appropriate place for the author(s) to express any concerns about the nature of the referee report. Within the EES system, the cover letter is entered into the system as a separate document: this assures confidentiality of the letter from the author to the editor.

A "Response to editor letter" noting specific page ranges in which the editor comments, questions, and requests are incorporated into the revision. This document will be available to the referee, as well as to the editor.

A "Response to referee comments" letter, which will be available to both the editor and the referee.​

Submission fees

There is a standard submission fee of US$250.00 for all manuscripts submitted for publication, used to reward referees for their time and encourage quicker responses. The submission fee for PhD students is $150. Submission fees are required for revised manuscripts after a "reject/revise" or an "accept with major revisions" decision letter.

There are three options for payment:

PayPal, allowing for payments using a PayPal account or any major credit card. We strongly encourage this form of payment. For the reduced student fee, please click here instead.

Checks denominated in US currency drawn on a US bank. Instructions are here.